Vengeance Creek: The Sons of Daniel Shaye

20

“Pa?”

“Yes, James?”

“There’s a back door to the bank,” he said. “It leads to the manager’s office. If I can get to it—”

“You have to cross the street to get to it, don’t you?”

“Yes, sir,” James said. “I can use the alley across the way.”

“They’d cut you down before you got across the street.”

“But they can also get out that way.”

“Where would they come out?”

“That depends,” James said. “They have access to two alleys, one on either side of the bank building. If they come out this way, we’ll see them. If they come out the other way, Thomas will.”

They had both decided, without speaking, that Thomas was still alive and pinned down on the other side.

“Cardwell probably put this whole thing together,” Shaye said, “but he apparently forgot one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“His men may have us pinned down,” Shaye said, “but we have them pinned down too.”

“Why would he make a mistake like that?”

“Two reasons,” Shaye said. “Firing shots inside the bank was not part of the plan, and we’ve been alerted too early.”

“And the second reason?”

“Maybe it wasn’t a mistake.”

Thomas listened to the quiet. He was waiting to hear something—anything—helpful. Voices from the bank, or the voices of his brother or father. He wondered if he should call out to them or maintain his silence. He peered up over the barrel he was using for cover. He saw two men watching for him, but they didn’t fire. He looked past them to see if he could spot his father or brother, but the street curved slightly as it passed the bank, and that’s where they must have been.

He could see the bank, though, and nothing was happening there. He didn’t know the bank layout well, so he didn’t know if there was another way out. He knew James would know, though, since he’d spent so much time in the bank trying to get up the courage to talk to Nancy Timmerman. Then he felt bad for his brother, who must have been worried about Nancy.

Thomas looked behind him and then across the street. He knew no one was going to come to their aid. Just like in Epitaph, the people of Vengeance Creek were going to do nothing to try and stop the bank robbery.

Now he felt bad for his father, who must certainly have been thinking, Not again.

Cardwell came back from the manager’s office, stepping once again over the two bodies that blocked the doorway.

“There’s a door back there, all right,” he said to Jacks, who was holding his gun on the employees.

“Where does it lead?”

“I opened it and looked out. We can make it to either side of the building.”

“Now if we only knew where Davis put the horses.”

“He was supposed to be ready to bring them around as soon as we needed them,” Cardwell said. He hadn’t wanted the horses to be right in front of the bank. That would have been a dead giveaway—but now it would have been convenient.

“We’ll have to go out and check both alleys,” Cardwell said. “Hopefully, there won’t be any law in either one. Our boys will still have them pinned down.”

“And be pinned down themselves.”

“At least that part is goin’ accordin’ to plan,” Cardwell said.

“So would this part, if you hadn’t shot those people.”

“He came out holdin’ a gun,” Cardwell said. “What was I supposed to do?”

“Never mind,” Jacks said. “Let’s just get out of here. Which one of these folks should we take with us?”

“None,” Cardwell said. “A hostage will just slow us down.”

“But…they’ll raise the alarm as soon as we go out the back door,” Jacks said.

Cardwell looked at the knife on Jack’s gun belt and said, “No they won’t.”

“It’s too quiet,” Shaye said. “We’ve got to do somethin’.”

“Can you walk?” James asked.

Shaye tried to move his leg, but the right one wouldn’t work for him. The pants leg was soaked with his blood, and the leg itself felt numb.

“No.”

“Then I’ll have to make a run for it, Pa,” James said. “If I can get down that alley, I can make it to the back door.”

Shaye grabbed his son’s arm. “You’ve got to be careful, James,” he said. “If they know about the back door—”

“I know, Pa,” James said. “I might run right into them.”

“Help me get into position to lay down some cover for you,” Shaye said. “I wish I had my damn rifle.”

Once again James placed his hands beneath his father’s arms and dragged him to a new position. The move caused the bleeding to start in his hip again, but he hid that fact from his son.

“Okay,” Shaye said, “this is good. I can pull myself up and lay down some fire.”

“Do you want my gun, Pa?”

Shaye thought it over. He’d be able to cover his son better with two guns, but that would leave James without a weapon when he reached the back of the bank. There was no point in that.

“No,” he said, “you’re gonna need it.”

“I wonder what Thomas is doin’?” James asked.

“Thinkin’,” Shaye said, “just like we are. Maybe when he hears my shots, he’ll fire as well.”

“I wish we could see him from here.”

“So do I, James,” Shaye said.

They both hoped that Thomas was all right, but neither voiced that concern.

Shaye reached up with one hand to grasp the horse trough, preparing to pull himself up.

“Ready?” he said to James.

“I’m ready, Pa.”

“Okay,” Shaye said. “Go!”